


Towards the sun

by deeptime



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Catlike Spock, Fluff, Happy James T. Kirk, Happy Spock, Jim bakes, M/M, Spock loves the sun, Vulcan Kisses, Vulcan Language, fuck the desert is hot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26350729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deeptime/pseuds/deeptime
Summary: Wow, the Vulcan desert is hot. Jim ventures out to find Spock. He needs some breakfast.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock
Comments: 5
Kudos: 105





	Towards the sun

When Jim stepped out of the doorway of the small, clay-walled dwelling, the heat draped over him like a heavy blanket. It was dry, bright, and scorching... and it was still early in the day. He gave himself twenty minutes, tops, before he was burnt to a crisp.

However, it appeared as though he would not even have to endure for that long, because a few meters away, sitting perfectly upright in the sand, was the subject of his search. Spock was still in meditation, that much, Jim could tell. His bare shoulders shone in the morning light, nearly motionless. Jim guessed he had gotten up with the sunrise, which had been about a Standard hour ago. Jim’s brain was still shifting off of ship time. While he usually considered it a cumbersome process, he was glad it had at least allowed him to give Spock some privacy this morning.

It was a rare occasion that Jim would catch Spock as he was coming out of his trance-like meditative state, but that was what was happening. Jim watched as Spock’s shoulders rose and fell with deep breaths that re-centered him, brought his attention back to his body and the world around him. He was still far enough away that Spock would not see, hear, or otherwise sense him. But to Jim’s surprise, instead of unfolding his legs and standing to go inside, Spock interlaced his fingers and stretched his arms above his head. Then, vertebra by vertebra, he rolled his spine fluidly to the ground until he was lying flat. His long legs came out in front of him. His arms reached overhead. Another deep breath, and on the exhale, Spock seemed to melt into the sand. Jim smiled. He left Spock to his sunbathing and went back inside.

  
  


Another hour passed before Jim was satisfied with the  _ kreylah _ he’d baked, following the Standard instructions scribbled in the margins of a well-worn Vulcan recipe book he’d found on a shelf. Getting the hang of the oven was the hardest part. It was very old, and made of stone, with a rickety iron rack. He’d only burned himself once, and that was a victory in itself. Well, there was breakfast to show for it, anyway. Jim stepped outside again to bring some to Spock. Jim doubted he had eaten yet that day.

Jim was only a little surprised to find Spock in mostly the same position as he’d left him. His legs still were stretched out in front of him, but his arms were by his sides, palms upturned to the sun, as was his face. As Jim came up alongside him, he glimpsed the expression of total serenity that was so rare aboard the  _ Enterprise. _ It made Jim smile again.

“You look so relaxed. It’s great to see,” he said quietly, stepping up to Spock’s side and casting a shadow over his arm.

Spock slitted his eyes open and peered up at Jim. A peaceful smile curled the corners of his mouth.

_ “Ashayam, t’nash-veh yel,” _ he replied in a soft voice,  _ “ha’tha ti’lu.” _

“Um,” Jim said, blinking at the unfamiliar words.

Spock lifted a hand and extended two fingers, reaching out for Jim. The human grinned wide. He knew what that meant. He sank to his knees in the dirt and set down the plate of  _ kreylah, _ then met Spock’s hand. He watched Spock’s pleased expression as the contact flowed through their fingertips.

“What does that mean?” Jim asked, shifting to sit beside Spock. The enamored Vulcan continued to caress his fingers.

“Hm?” Spock answered, blinking slowly.

Jim chuckled lightly, surveying Spock’s drowsy gaze and the increasingly prominent olive tint to his face, chest, and arms.

“Spock, I don’t know if this is even possible, but you… You look drunk. On sunlight.”

“Mm,” Spock replied, with a considering tilt to his head. 

He stared up at Jim for a second, then his eyes drifted shut again. He let out a long, satisfied  _ purr.  _ Jim breathed out another laugh.

“You also look a little burnt.”

Jim was drenched in sweat now, and seriously regretting his decision not to put a hat on. But Spock looked so deeply content, even happy, that it hardly mattered at all.

“Okay,” Jim tried again, “how about we go in and you can have some  _ kreylah, _ and then we’ll come back out later?”

Spock blinked up at Jim again. He ran his fingertips languidly over Jim’s hand and up the inside of his arm. Jim  _ shivered. _ Spock shifted to sit up.

“Guess that’s an ‘affirmative’,” Jim said with a bewildered grin.

Spock drew his long legs up underneath him and rose off the ground. He rolled his shoulders, shedding some of the dirt from his bare back. Jim caught Spock’s eye and gave him a questioning look, which Spock answered with an easy nod. 

Jim moved behind him and began to sweep the rust-brown sediment from his skin. It left behind a slight stain, coating the contours of muscles that had been cradled by the ground. Jim brushed the glittering particles off of Spock’s dark meditation skirt, then retrieved the plate of  _ kreylah _ from the ground. When he straightened up again, Spock’s fingers were waiting for him, poised patiently and elegantly in the air.

Jim smiled again, feeling a slight blush settle in on top of his already heat-flushed complexion. Spock gave him a deep, contented stare in return. Their fingers met, and Spock pressed their arms together as they retreated to the shade of the clay-walled home.

**Author's Note:**

> Spock’s Vuhlkansu ramblings:  
> Ashayam - Beloved  
> t’nash-veh yel - my sun  
> ha’tha ti’lu - good morning


End file.
